The Land of Milk and Honey

Cooking with Honey

by Laurie DotsonFall days are wonderful, here in our household. We are very laid back. Enjoying the changing of the seasons. Tho’ this fall has been pretty darn mild. I’m not complaining at all. The bees are still coming and going and chickens don’t have to have a heat lamp or a ice melter in the coop. Dogs are running around the property as if they were puppies. Gosh, It makes you say Thank you God and fire up the grill! With the cooler nights and the fall produce at every farmstand calling my name. I decided to grill a couple of steaks along with Roasted brussel sprouts with honey and sriracha. It’s that perfectly, delicious dish that fits into my diet. Calorie counting…I have 10 pounds to go. I love food so what goes in my mouth must be worth the count! This meal counts…when we go out to a restaurant, everyone shares off of each other’s plates. How else will you get to try so many different kinds of dishes.Right!? We found this dish at a local restaurant in town and this is my take or make on the recipe. So tonight we are Grilling Steaks and ROASTing BRUSSELS SPROUTS w/ HONEY & SRIRACHA. …By the time the sprouts were roasted, mixed and served, my sweet husband was only able to fork 3 brussels sprouts before the dish was gone. I could not stop the the humming , yumming and inhaling that took place. I saw nothing but the sprouts and they saw nothing but my mouth. Poor Poor Husband…I gave him the other half my steak, which I was to full to eat… he graciously ate the steak. Here is my version of this fabulous dish! Try it and enjoy!

HONEY SRIRACHA ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

40 minsServes: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1½ pounds Brussels sprouts

2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp paprika powder

2-3 cloves of garlic, diced

dash of lime pepper

1 tablespoon sriracha

3 tablespoons beepothecary honey

1 lime, juiced

INSTRUCTIONS : Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut off the stem end of the sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Cut large sprouts in half.

In a small bowl mix together kosher, salt, onion powder, paprika, garlic, and lime pepper. Place sprouts in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil and season generously with Kosher salt mixture. Toss to coat. Place in a single layer on an aluminum-foil lined baking sheet. Roast for 35-40 minutes, shaking the pan a few times throughout the cooking process, until crisp and golden brown on the outside and tender on the inside.

Meanwhile; combine sriracha, honey, and lime in a small bowl. Season with Kosher salt.

Remove sprouts from oven, transfer to large bowl, and drizzle with honey sriracha sauce. Toss lightly to coat and serve immediately.

Now that dinner is served. You can get online and finish your christmas shopping.

Go to BEEpothecary website and find the perfect gifts for that special someone. Check out our gift sets and Don’t forget to use the discount code 10NL15 to get %10 your entire order.

Happy Holidays, Happy hanukkah and Merry Christmas to you and yours! From Steve, Jeannie, Pete and Laurie

It’s been so busy today that I forgot to eat. This really has gotten me to think about having healthy snack, ready to eat at a moments notice. And I’m not talking apples and carrot, which I do have, but something fun for my mouth. Which made me think of a conversation I had earlier in the day with a customer. She has young, school age children who are feeling better, since they have been taking our Propolis oil. But the girls are not crazy about the taste of Olive oil and Propolis. I don’t blame them. It’s not a taste that I crave either:) But like them, I do take it every day! So I suggested she add the Propolis oil in a salad and if she bought some beebread she could add that t0 the girls morning oatmeal or in a yummy smoothie. Propolis tincture can be added to any fruit drinks. Added it to anything if you don’t want to take it straight down your throat. She laughed and asked for some recipes.

First off…

If you don’t know what Propolis is, it’s a resin that the Honeybee gather from tops of trees bud and the bark. They mix it with their enzymes and then they plaster the whole inside of the hive.

It helps insulate the hive, it helps clean the hive and it protects the hive from bacteria and viruses. This same Propolis that helps fight sickness in the hive, will also protect us from the the same viruses and bacteria floating and hanging about us. Propolis icontains flavonoids that are anti viral, anti bacterial, anti microbial, anti fungal and an anti-inflammatory Propolis can be a great dietary supplement to enhance your overall health and boost immunity.

BeeBread is Pollen and Honey mixed together. BeeBread is filled with everything you need to energize your day, workout or recovery. It is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein and iron that will benefit people of all ages and boost the immune system.

Flying about from flower to flower, bees collect pollen in the pollen baskets on their legs and carry it back to the hive. In the hive, pollen is used as a protein source necessary during brood-rearing. The pollen pellets and honey are combined and ferment until the the hard shell of the pollen is dissolve. At that time the bee will feast on it and feed it to their grwoing young.

So back to my phone conversation and my hungry stomach. How can you get Propolis and BeeBread

into you daily route? Here are a three recipes!

Stay Healthy with the Power of BEES

Basil Vinaigrette Dressing

Original recipe makes 1 -1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 cupolive oil

1/2- 1 tsp of BEEpothecaryPropolis Oil

1/3 cupapple cider vinegar

1/4 cupBEEpothecary wildflower honey

3 tablespoonschopped fresh basiL

2 clovesgarlic, minced

PREPARATION

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, basil, and garlic. Pour over or toss with your favorite salad to serve

Pineapple Coconut Bites

INGREDIENTS

Makes: About 20 cookies

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

INGREDIENTS

FILLING

1 1/4 cups canned crushed pineapple, slightly drained

1 tablespoon BEEpothecary honey

1 tablespoon cornstarch

DOUGH

1/2 cup almonds

6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsalted cold butter

3 tablespoons Propolis Coconut oil or Propolis Olive oil

2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

PREPARATION

To prepare filling: Spoon pineapple into a small saucepan with honey and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Let cool.

To prepare dough: Meanwhile, process almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Add confectioners’ sugar; process to combine. Add whole-wheat pastry flour and all-purpose flour; process to combine. Drop butter by the tablespoon through the feed tube, processing briefly after each addition. Add oil and pulse once or twice. Add coconut, cornstarch, salt and vanilla and process just until the mixture resembles crumbly, fine meal, but will hold together if pressed.

Reserve a scant 1/2 cup of tart dough to use as crumbled topping.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line mini muffin pans with 20 paper cups.

Drop a scant tablespoon of dough into each paper cup. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the cup, making a well in the center, to form a miniature crust. Spoon 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of the pineapple filling into each crust and top each with some of the reserved crumbs.

Bake until the topping is golden brown and the crust is cooked through (watch carefully toward the end and move the pan to the bottom rack if the top begins to brown before the bottom crust is done), 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pans.

The Land of Milk and Honey

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1 Chronicles 4:10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

The Land of Milk and Honey

Cooking with Honey

by Laurie Dotson

Garlic in the garden

Sorry, No honey cooking today! How about garlic.

For years, We had this strange plant growing in our garden. At the time, I loved flower gardening. I had multiple large gardens in my yards. I would add any new or throw away perennials people would give me. And If I didn’t have room, I would make a new garden. Big, Beautiful flower gardens. I had an oasis.

Every Spring and early summer, I would notice this plant. A hardy plant, that would grow a spiked shoot and then over night it would curl. When it flowered, it has tiny little flowers and then it would grow these bulbs off the end. Later the bulbs would drop and the next year I had more plants. I loved the shape and the color. I would use them in flower arrangements and potted arrangements. Still never knew exactly what I had. Until one day, when I dig up a huge mound of them. I eat everything. So I took a deep swiff of it and then bit into it! Yeowzers! I had garlic! GARLIC! All these years, I had Garlic. I love Garlic. Garlic is a staple in my kitchen. It goes in everything I cook. I could grow these, along with other herbs and make food for the family. But Vegetable gardening ? Never a consideration…until!

After a quick internet search on garlic. I learned how to care and grow garlic cloves. I now have 200 garlic plants and that is where the garlic scapes come from. What do you do with all your scapes?? Well we saute’ them with veggies, I roast them with meat, I cut them ups and add them to a salad… or I make this Garlic Scape Pesto is a great way to use something we get a whole heck of a lot of this time of year. When you grow two hundred heads of garlic, guess how many garlic scapes you get? That is correct – you get two hundred garlic scapes. That’s a lot.

Scapes are important to the garlic – it’s how more garlic plants happen. There are little seeds in the bigger round part, and if you leave the scapes in place, they would eventually burst open, scattering ripe seeds around, which will germinate and make more garlic plants. Unfortunately, in so doing, they draw nutrients away from the growing of the bulb they are on – and the bulbs are what is important to us. So, they all have to be cut off. And since we can’t stand to waste anything, we are working on finding ways to use them. They have great taste and very tender and the texture fabulous. Get them early!

I cut a five gallon bucket full of these Garlic Scapes

Fortunately, they are really wonderful in pesto, because we get all the great flavor and they get completely ground up, so texture isn’t an issue. And we LOVE pesto. I make as much of it as I can every summer and freeze it in ice cube trays to enjoy through the winter. Once the pesto is frozen solid, you can just pop the cubes out of the tray and store them in ziplock bags or other containers. You do want to have some trays dedicated solely to pesto and like substances though – the ice cube trays will absorb the flavor and pesto flavored iced tea is surprisingly un-tasty.

Garlic Pesto Ingerdents

You will likely be able to find garlic scapes at your local Farmer’s Market this time of year, or maybe even in your CSA box. If you know someone who grows garlic, they might have some to share – they are worth looking for!

Garlic Scape Pesto

Serves: 1 & ½ cups

Ingredients

½ cup chopped garlic scapes

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

⅓ cup lightly toasted pine nuts or almonds

½ cup fresh basil, packed tightly – then roughly chopped

juice of ½ lemon

kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

⅓ cup good quality olive oil

Instructions

Add everything but the oil to the bowl of a food processor

Process until everything is finely chopped and almost a paste.

Leave the processor running and stream in oil

It will only take a moment of two for the mixture to emulsify – turn off processor.

Leave at room temperature for an hour or so to develop flavors- keep plastic wrap pressed to top surface to keep the top from turning brown.

Can be stored in the refrigerator for several days, or can be frozen.

Garlic Scape Pesto is wonderful anywhere that you would use ordinary pesto – on vegetables, pasta, in sandwiches, topping a bowl of soup – just about anything, really. Experiment to find how you like to use it most! I will be taking this on a camping trip with friends and using this in my dinner preparations.

Enjoy your Garden and Farm, and all it has to offer!

Laurie

Your Health…Powered by BEES!

Luke 11:13NIV If you then, though you are not perfect, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

The Land of Milk and Honey

Cooking with Honey

by Laurie Dotson

All I want to do is get my garden growing! It’s all I have on my mind, these days. Do I have all my seeds? Where are the shipments? Did I remember to buy non-GMO seeds? When can I get farmer Bud to till up the garden? Why am I so late, in thinking about all of these? Potato SEEDS???? ugh!:(

Yesterday, I was wandering around the yard, watching the clover grow and contemplating the future of my back yard. When I happened upon my wonderful rhubarb plant.

How lovely you are little, big plant! I didn’t think of you and yet here you are. What a blessing:)

A good friend, a couple years ago, gave me a bit of hers. Now I have, this honkin’ mass of beautiful rhubarb. Each stalk is at less, an inch in thickness and two feet long. I pulled out the biggest and longest stalk and then took a bite off the end! WoooDoggy was it tart! I felt like a kid all over.

Growing up in Michigan, My mother always had a plant or two her garden or along a fence line. My sister’s and I would each get a cup of white sugar and a short rhubarb stalk and go to town on it. Dipping the stack in the sugar and then gnawing on the sweet fibers to mix the two flavors. Yummy!

A few days ago my daughter had a birthday. She loves rhubarb. So, I thought for her big Birthday Bash, I would make something with Rhubarb! I came across multiple recipes and with a little experimenting, I made this for Hanna!

Directions:Heat oil in a medium saute pan. Add the shallots, allspice, salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until just softened. Add the ginger and cook 1 minute more. Add the rhubarb, honey and water to the pan. Cook until the rhubarb is just tender — you don’t want it to fall apart. Remove fruit heat and stir in red wine vinegar.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12NIV

PS I’m not a great blogger, but I do love passing on this love of all things delicious! If my grammar, spelling and punctuation is not correct please forgive me. I pray you can see pass that and see you heart.

The Land of Milk and Honey

Cooking with Honey

by Laurie Dotson

IT’S Spring! I love this time of year. It starts in February sometime…You know the weather! You open up the door, to what you think is going to be fridged, cold winter air, but you are surprised with a warm 50 degrees that you feel crosses your face. You begin to smell and hear the first signs of spring peeking into your backyard.

My dream Lavender garden:)

Let me repeat that in different words, the on and off of warm days, along with that sweet smell of purple flowers growing in your garden plots. aahhh! Such Sweetness! lol

So, I feel Spring is here, even though, the weather man says we are getting a nor-eastern tonight.

Bring it on! One last hoorah, winter. ONE LAST HOORAH! I mean it!!!!

Spring brings herbs, plants and Lavender!!! I am a fein for lavender! I love the smell, the look, and the feel that this little flower produces. I’m getting ready for spring planting and I need little inspiration! So here is a yummy sweet treat thats a bit on the unordinary but a lotta-bit on the delicious!

Sweet Honey Lavender and Coconut Treats

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Dried Plums or Figs – I used plums, because thats what I had in the cupboard.

1/4 cup Flax seeds

2 TBSP Chia seeds

1 TBSP Lavender buds

INSTRUCTIONS

Using a food processor, blend the coconut into a powder, then add lavender and blend some more. Then add figs or plums until well blended. Finally add the honey, flax seed and chia seed. Finish by pulsing until well blended. Ball up with a 1 Tbsp cookie scoop. place on platter and serve or scoop and place in sealed container and ‘frigerate.

I eat three of these with a glass of water as a mid-day snack! This recipe is a great way to get protein, fiber, and antioxidants.

The Land of Milk and Honey

Cooking with Honey

by Laurie Dotson

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Everyone!

My Favorite Color is Green, My Father and my husbands father, have ancestors from Ireland and Scotland. We love to eat corn beef, sauerkraut and hash. We welcome a good dark porter beer or a Guinness stout at our table. As a child, I always wanted to see the end of a rainbow. A few extra gold coins would have been a nice surprise for my folks. Today, I’m happy right where I am. I have an Unfailing Faith, good friends and family around, a wonderful husband to share life with and some good ole’ hard work, everyday!

Here are a few Irish proverbs

1. May the luck of the Irish be with you!

2. If you want praise, die. If you want blame, marry.

3. Here’s to a long life and a merry one. A quick death and an easy one. A pretty girl and an honest one. A cold pint and another one!

4. If you’re enough lucky to be Irish… You’re lucky enough!

5. May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far.

6. A man may live after losing his life but not after losing his honour.

7. “All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” – Sean O’Casey

8. You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your father was.

9. It is often that a person’s mouth broke his nose.

10. It is better to spend money like there’s no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there’s no money!

Tonight, I needed to come up with a dish that is green:) So, I searched my pantry, ‘frigerator, chicken coop and garage..that’s where I store, last seasons garlic. I came up with an old favorite with a little twist of sweetness.

We are having a “not so” traditional St. Paddy’s day dinner. Instead we would like to celebrate with an American Irish Breakfast: Eggs, corn-beef hash, fried bacon, sour dough bread, coffee with St Brendan’s irish cream.

Cut the top 1/2 inch off each head of garlic, exposing the cloves. Set the garlic in the center of a square of heavy aluminum foil. Pour 1 teaspoon of the honey and 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over the garlic, replace the tops, and fold up the sides of the foil to make a package, crimping the top tight. Bake until very tender and golden, 40 to 45 minutes.

Transfer the baked garlic to a bowl, including all the juices in the foil pouch. When cool enough to handle, remove the garlic heads and carefully pop out the garlic cloves by pushing up from the bottom; try to keep the cloves intact. Add the remaining teaspoon honey and tablespoon olive oil and gently stir to combine.

Heat a very wide skillet over medium heat, and add the butter and pine nuts. When they begin to sizzle and turn golden brown, add half of the Swiss chard. Cook, stirring, until the greens wilt, a minute or two. Add the remaining chard. Once all of the chard is wilted, season with salt and pepper, and cook until most of the liquid has simmered off, another 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the honey-roasted garlic to the chard, mix very gently to combine, and serve. you can also add chopped almond and cranberries to add a little crunch. either way, you will have them coming back for more.